Doll mount and case

ABSTRACT

A mount for holding doll apparatus of the type which includes a figure, a support arm extending rearwardly from the figure, and a wheel mounted on the arm so as to enable a child to roll the figure along a table top. The mount includes a wide aperture for receiving the figure, a narrow slot extending rearwardly from the rear of the aperture for receiving the support arm and holding it in place, and an empty space beneath the slot for receiving the wheel of the doll apparatus when the doll is in the mount. The mount is in the form of an airplane, with the figure-receiving aperture formed in the fuselage near the trailing edge of the wings so that figure arms on the doll figure can rest on the wings. The wings can be folded upwardly to hold the doll in a carrying case.

United States Patent [72] inventors Sidney Bass Los Angeles; Anthony D.Miller, Torrance, Calif. [21] Appl. No. 846,361 {22] Filed July 31,1969[45] Patented June 1, 1971 [73] Assignee Mattel, Inc.

Hawthorne, Calif.

[54] DOLL MOUNT AND CASE 8 Claims, 4 Drawing Figs.

[52] US. Cl 46/106, 46/32 [51] Int. Cl A63h 11/10 [50] Field of Search..46/10 T, 11, 106, 116, 32

[56] References Cited UNlTED STATES PATENTS 833,157 10/1906 Dorsey46/10T l' 13,ss1,432

1,690,063 lO/l928 Hall 2,628,452 2/1953 Gladstein ABSTRACT: A mount forholding doll apparatus of the type which includes a figure, a supportarm extending rearwardly from the figure, and a wheel mounted on the armso as to enable a child to roll the figure along a table top. The mountincludes a wide aperture for receiving the figure, a narrow slotextending rearwardly from the rear of the aperture for receiving thesupport arm and holding it in place, and an empty space beneath the slotfor receiving the wheel of the doll apparatus when the doll is in themount. The mount is in the form of an airplane, with thefigure-receiving aperture formed in the fuselage near the trailing edgeof the wings so that figure arms on the doll figure can rest on thewings. The wings can be folded upwardly to hold the doll in a carryingcase.

DOLL MOUNT AND CASE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of theInvention This invention relates to toy apparatus for holding dolls.

2. Description of the Prior Art An entertaining doll apparatus isprovided by a doll figure with a support arm extending from its back,and a wheel mounted on the rear end of the support arm. Such apparatusallows a child to roll the doll along a table top by moving the wheelalong the table so the doll moves a small distance above the tablesurface. The wheel can drive a simple figure-oscillating mechanism sothat the figure pivots from side to side while its legs take walkingsteps, as the wheel rolls along the table. One type of toy accessory isa doll mount for holding a doll in a lifelike setting. An ordinary mountwith a simple aperture for receiving a doll figure cannot be used withthe foregoing doll apparatus, since the support arm and wheel thereoncannot be easily accommodated in a simple aperture.

Various doll figures have been utilized in the doll apparatus describedabove. One currently popular comic strip character which can be embodiedin a doll figure, represents a dog who has visions of flying an earlymodel airplane. A doll mount representing such an airplane, which couldreceive the figure in a manner that largely conceals the wheeled armsupport and enables mounting of the figure so that it appears to beflying the early model airplane, would be especially entertaining. Itwould be desirable if the airplane mount could be easily folded forstorage and could be easily carried in a case to prevent damage to it,particularly the laterally extending wings.

OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the invention is toprovide a doll mount which can receive doll apparatus of the type whichincludes a figure held on a wheeled support arm, in a manner to largelyconceal the supporting arm mechanism.

Another object is to provide an entertaining and easily stored dollmount apparatus.

In accordance with the present invention, a mount is provided forholding a doll ofa type which includes a figure with a support armextending in a generally rearward direction therefrom with a wheel atthe rearward end. The mount in cludes an aperture with a wide forwardpart for receiving the figure and a narrow slot extending rearwardlyfrom the forward part for receiving the support arm. The area beneaththe rearwardly extending slot is empty to accommodate the wheelingapparatus. In one embodiment of the invention, the mount is in the formof an airplane, and the doll-receiving aperture is formed in thefuselage just behind the wing to support the figure so its upper partextends above the fuselage and the arms of the figure can rest on thewings. The wings are hingedly supported on the fuselage so they can befolded up to a vertical position for storage. A case is provided forholding the airplane mount, the case and bottom of the airplane mounthaving snap couplings so that the mount can be snapped to hold itsecurely in place in the case.

The novel features of the invention are set forth with par ticularity inthe appended claims. The invention will be best understood from thefollowing description when read in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of amount constructed in accordance with the invention, showing a dollapparatus received therein;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the mount of FIG. 1 in a foldedconfiguration, showing it held in a case constructed in accordance withthe invention, part of the case being broken away;

FIG. 3 is 11 plan view of the mount of FIG. I; and

HG. 4 is at side elevation view ol'the mount ofFIG. I.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS As shown in FIG. I and thephantom lines of FIG. 4, doll apparatus 10 of the type designed to beheld by the mount of the invention comprises a doll figure I2 with asupport arm 14 extending in a generally rearward and downward directionfrom the back of the doll, and a truck [6 mounted at the rearward end ofthe support arm. The truck 16 includes a guide portion 17 which can bepressed down against a table top and urged forward by a child's finger,and a wheel 18 which rolls along the table so that the doll skims alongthe table surface. A crankshaft coupled to the wheel 18 moves a flexiblewire that passes through the arm 14 to the figure 12 to move the figurein an entertaining manner as the apparatus rolls along a table top.Typically, the legs 20 of the figure are made to pivot back and forth tosimulate walking and the figure is made to oscillate so it faces fromside to side. The particular figure shown in the drawings represents adog with an aviator cap and scarf.

The mount 22 for receiving the doll apparatus is in the form of anairplane with a doll'holding portion in the form of a fuselage 24 anddecorative members. in the form of a wing structure 26. The wingstructure of the biplane type representing early model airplanes, andincludes upper wing members 28, 30 and lower wing members 32, 34extending laterally from each side of the fuselage. The fuselage has areceiving aperture 36 formed therein which includes a wide forwardportion 38 that 40 extending rearwardly from the wide for ward part, forreceiving the support arm 14 of the doll apparatus. The space within thefuselage which lies immediately beneath and behind the slot 40 is empty,to receive the truck 16 of the doll apparatus. The fuselage and wingmembers are of a multiply construction, including a cardboard innerlayer 41 and a pair of thin vinyl outer layers 43, 45 that are heatsealed together around the edges of the members.

The doll apparatus 10 can be positioned in the mount by first insertingthe truck 16 through the forward aperture portion 38 and then slidingthe arm 14 through the slot 40 while lowering the doll figure 12 intothe aperture. The bottom of the fuselage 24 is uncovered so that thedoll apparatus would fall through it and under the plane if the dollwere not supported in place. In order to support the rear of the dollapparatus, the walls of the fuselage 24 are laterally spaced by lessthan the width of the truck 16. In addition, the cardboard inner layersof the mount construction make the walls of the fuselage 24 somewhatflexible so they tend to hold the truck 16 in place, to secure it at theposition to which it has been inserted. The walls of slot 40 are alsonarrower than support arm 14 and are biased toward each other, so theytend to hold the arm in place.

The doll figure 12 includes a pair of figure arms 42, 44 that can bepivoted to a variety of positions. In order to hold the figure in place,the arms 42, 44 are positioned so that they lie on top of the upperwings 28, 30 of the airplane. This is made possible because the figureaperture 38 is located near the trailing edges, or rear, of the wings.With the figure arms resting on the wings, the upper half of the figureprotrudes above the figure-receiving aperture 36 while: the lowerposition lies within the fuselage, so that the doll figure appears to beseated in the fuselage and to be flying the airplane. The engagement ofthe figure arms, 42, 44 with the upper wing surfaces enables the forwardpart of the doll apparatus to be held in place in the aperture. Thus,the flexible walls of the fuselage support the rearward portion of thedoll apparatus, while the arms 42, 44 of the doll figure that rest onthe wing surfaces support the forward part of the doll apparatus, sothat the doll apparatus is held in place in the mount.

The mount is designed for compaction to the storage position shown inFIG. 2. To enable such compaction, all four wing members are hinged tothe fuselage so they can be pivoted to a substantially verticalorientation. Pieces of cloth material without cardboard or otherstiffening structure form the hinges at 46 and 48 for the upper wingsand at 50, 52 for the lower wings. The mount can be opened up byallowing the wing structure to fall to a horizontal position. In orderto prevent the upper wings from falling lower than a substantiallyhorizontal position, the hinges 46, 48 at which they are joined to thefuselage, are positioned inwardly from the sides 54, 56 of the fuselage.When these upper wing members fall to the horizontal position, they aresupported by the portions of the upper surface of the fuselage which liebetween the hinges 46, 48 and the laterally outer edges of the fuselage.The lower wing members 32,34 are prevented from falling below thehorizontal by wing bracing members 58, 60, which join the upper andlower wing members on each side of the fuselage, and by supports 86which extend outward from each side of a wheel bracket 82. The bracingmembers 58, 60 are each pivotally joined at one end to the bottom of anupper wing member and at the other end to a bottom wing member. Thisallows the bracing structure to pivot to allow the wings to fold up tothe position of FIG. 2, while supporting the lower wing members in ahorizontal configuration when the mount is opened up.

A carrying case 62, shown in FIG. 2, is provided to facilitate storageand carrying of the folded up mount. The case includes a base 64,sidewalls 66, 68 hingedly joined to the base, and a top wall 70 hingedto one sidewall and having a flap 72 for latching to the other sidewall68 of the case. A carrying handle 74 is provided on the top wall, and alatch-receiving hole 76 is provided on the flap which receives a turntype latch member 77 pivotally mounted on the upper end of the sidewall68 to provide for easy latching. The case does not have end walls, andin order to hold the mount 22 in place, couplings are provided on themount and base. The mount has a bracket 82 extending downwardly from thefront of the fuselage, for holding airplane wheels 84, and a snapcoupling 80 is mounted on a downwardly facing surface of the bracket. Atab 90 is hingedly joined to the base of the case 64, and a snapcoupling 78 is mounted on the tab. The snap coupling 80 can engage thecoupling 78 to snap the mount in place and hold it securely to the case.

Thus, the invention provides a mount for receiving doll apparatus of thetype that includes a figure with a rearwardly extending support armwhich is supported on a truck for rolling it along the ground. The mountholds the doll in place so that the truck and part of the arm are hiddenfrom view while the upper portion of the figure can be viewed. The dollapparatus can be easily inserted into the mount and removed therefrom,yet can be held securely in place therein using a mount of simpleconstruction. The mount can be easily folded into a compactconfiguration and secured in a case.

Although particular embodiments of the invention have been described andillustrated herein, it is recognized that modifications and variationsmay readily occur to those skilled in the art, and consequently, it isintended that the claims be interpreted to cover such modifications andequivalents.

We claim:

1. A mount for holding doll apparatus that includes a figure with asupport arm extending in a generally rearward and downward directionfrom said figure and a truck mounted on the end of said support armopposite said figure to enable said figure to be rolled above a tabletop,

a receiving member for holding said figure having walls forming anaperture with a wide forward part for receiving said figure and a narrowslot extending rearwardly from said forward part for receiving saidsupport arm.

2. The mount described in claim 1 wherein:

said receiving member has walls below said slot which form a region forreceiving said truck, said walls biased toward each other to aseparation less than the width of said truck to engage said truck andhold it in place.

3. The mount described in claim 1 wherein:

the portion of said walls forming said narrow slot are biased towardeach other to a separation less than the width of said support arm toengage said arm and hold it in place.

4. The mount described in claim 1 wherein: said doll figure includesfigure arms extending from an upper portion thereof; and

said receiving member is in the form of an airplane with a fuselage andwings, said doll-receiving aperture being formed in said fuselageimmediately behind said wings and said slot extending rearwardly alongsaid fuselage from said aperture, to enable the figure arms of said dollto rest on said wings.

5. The mount described in claim 4 wherein:

said receiving member includes upper and lower wings on each side ofsaid fuselage, each wing being hingedly joined to said fuselage, meansfor supporting said upper wings to prevent movement below asubstantially horizontal position, and a wing-bracing member pivotallyjoined to the upper and lower wings on each side of said fuselage.

6. A mount for holding doll apparatus that includes a figure, a supportarm extending in a generally rearwardly and downwardly direction fromsaid figure, and a truck mounted at the end of said support arm oppositesaid figure for enabling said figure to be rolled along a table top,

a fuselage and wings extending from either side thereof, said fuselagehaving an aperture for receiving said figure, and a slot extendingrearwardly from said aperture for receiving said support arm, saidfuselage being substantially hollow at a region beneath said slot toenable said doll apparatus to be mounted by inserting said truck throughsaid aperture and moving it rearwardly under said slot.

7. The mount described in claim 6 wherein:

said figure has movable figure arms extending from an upper portionthereof; and

said aperture for receiving said figure lies near the rear of saidwings, to enable the arms of said doll to rest upon said wings.

8. The mount described in claim 6 wherein:

said wings comprise a pair of vertically spaced wing members extendingfrom both sides of said fuselage, the lower wing member of each pairhingedly joined to said fuselage at the side thereof to enable it topivot upwardly to a largely vertical position and the upper wing memberof each pair hingedly joined to said fuselage at a position spacedinwardly from the side of said fuselage to prevent said member frompivoting down further than a substantially horizontal position, andbracing members pivotally joining the outer end portions of each pair ofwings.

1. A mount for holding doll apparatus that includes a figure with asupport arm extending in a generally rearward and downward directionfrom said figure and a truck mounted on the end of said support armopposite said figure to enable said figure to be rolled above a tabletop, a receiving member for holding said figure having walls forming anaperture with a wide forward part for receiving said figure and a narrowslot extending rearwardly from said forward part for receiving saidsupport arm.
 2. The mount described in claim 1 wherein: said receivingmember has walls below said slot which form a region for receiving saidtruck, said walls biased toward each other to a separation less than thewidth of said truck to engage said truck and hold it in place.
 3. Themount described in claim 1 wherein: the portion of said walls formingsaid narrow slot are biased toward each other to a separation less thanthe width of said support arm to engage said arm and hold it in place.4. The mount described in claim 1 wherein: said doll figure includesfigure arms extending from an upper portion thereof; and said receivingmember is in the form of an airplane with a fuselage and wings, saiddoll-receiving aperture being formed in said fuselage immediately behindsaid wings and said slot extending rearwardly along said fuselage fromsaid aperture, to enable the figure arms of said doll to rest on saidwings.
 5. The mount described in claim 4 wherein: said receiving memberincludes upper and lower wings on each side of said fuselage, each wingbeing hingedly joined to said fuselage, means for supporting said upperwings to prevent movement below a substantially horizontal position, anda wing-bracing member pivotally joined to the upper and lower wings oneach side of said fuselage.
 6. A mount for holding doll apparatus thatincludes a figure, a support arm extending in a generally rearwardly anddownwardly direction from said figure, and a truck mounted at the end ofsaid support arm opposite said figure for enabling said figure to berolled along a table top, a fuselage and wings extending from eitherside thereof, said fuselage having an aperture for receiving saidfigure, and a slot extending rearwardly from said aperture for receivingsaid support arm, said fuselage being substantially hollow at a regionbeneath said slot to enable said doll apparatus to be mounted byinserting said truck through said aperture and moving it rearwardlyunder said slot.
 7. The mount described in claim 6 wherein: said figurehas movable figure arms extending from an upper portion thereof; andsaid aperture for receiving said figure lies near the rear of saidwings, to enable the arms of said doll to rest upon said wings.
 8. Themount described in claim 6 wherein: said wings comprise a pair ofvertically spaced wing members extending from both sides of saidfuselage, the lower wing member of each pair hingedly joined to saidfuselage at the side thereof to enable it to pivot upwardly to a largelyvertical position and the upper wing member of each pair hingedly joinedto said fuselage at a position spaced inwardly from the side of saidfuselage to prevent said member from pivoting down further than asubstantially horizontal position, and bracing members pivotally joiningthe outer end portions of each pair of wings.